Non-jamming vibratory hopper



Feb. 3, 1959 c. M. OWEN 2,372,019

NON-JAMMING VIBRATORY HOPPER Filed Jan. 24, 1957 3 Shets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR. 62/11/35 Maw/c5 Owe/v ,7 7' TOP/V5 rs v Feb. 3, 1959 c. M. OWEN. 2,872,019

NON-JAMMING VIBRATORY HOPPER Filed JaLn.. 24, 1957 s Sheets-Sheet 5 7 INVENTOR.

,4 TTOR'NE YS NQN-JAMMHNG VKBRATGRY HOPPER Claude Maurice @wen, New York, N. Y., assignor to Chase Equipment (Iorporation, New York, N. Y, a corporation of New York Application January 24, 1957, Serial No. 636,152

' 6 Claims. (Cl. l9833) This invention relates to a non-jamming vibratory hopper.

Hoppers of this type are usually employed as one unit of a series of units cooperating in the assembly and manufacture of a finished piece. It is a problem in such manufacturing operations to prevent the individual articles or objects, being separated within the hopper, from jamming whereby the feed to the balance of the units assembled in series would be interrupted. It being well understood that any interruption in this feed would result in an operational failure of'the series-of units and limit the productive efficiency and productive output of the entire unit.

In general, the hopper is fed by dumping into the hopper bowl a jumbled plurality or mass of articles or objects to be separated, either by means of a shovel or from a basket.

These articles are then, by various methods, separated individually and transported to another unit of the assembly line of units by suitable conveyors, chutes or runways.

it is a general problem in this type of arrangement to insure that the object being separated is in the correct position i. e., the correct side forward or the correct side up, so that it will be in the correct assembling position when introduced to a succeeding unit on the line of units. An object incorrectly positioned might possibly jam succeeding units thereby again reducing the efiiciency andreducing the productive output of the entire series otnnits. Such costly delays and corresponding reductions in' ethciency are extremely detrimental and it is to the solution of this problem that the instant application is directed.

It is an object of my invention to provide a non-ja1n ming vibratory hopper wherein the articles will be re jected prior to their introduction into either a succeeding assembly unit or a runway chute or conveyor leading to a succeeding unit, when the objectsso being separated are not in the correct feed position.

it is a further object of my invention to provide means for returning an object rejected because of incorrect position, to the hopper itself, where it will be reintroduced into the general mass for recycling.

it is still another object of my invention to provide means for pro-positioning the articles in advance of the rejecting means so that they will be positively positioned for rejection or acceptance by the rejection means.

It is yet another object of my invention to provide to jecting and pre-positioning means which will not rial V or mar the article during the selection and I'jCllOll action. 1

It is still a further object of my invention to provide a stop which will prevent entry of an incorrectly positioned article into a succeeding assembly unit and will also position the article for positive ejection from that position, back into the mass contained Within the hopper bowl.

It is still a further object of my invention to provide a non-jamming vibratory hopper which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture, easy to maintain, dependable in anthers Fatented Feb. 3, 1%59 2. operation and one which will afiord the operator easy access in case of damage or improper operation.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will hereinafter appear in the following specification taken together with the accompanying drawing forming a part thereof, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of my non-jamming vibratory hopper;

Fig' 2 is atop view ofmy non-jamming vibratory hopper;

Fig. 3 is a partial-sectionalview taken along the line 3-3 Of Fig.2;

Fig. 4 is a partial sectional view of'my non-jamming vibratory hopper showing in detail the rejecting apparatus;

Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are partial sectional views showing various consecutive stages of operation of a part of th rejection apparatus illustratedin Fig. 4;

Fig. 8 is a pictorial view of various shaped articlesthat can be separated in my non-jamming vibratory hopper.

Referring to Fig. 1, there is shown a non-jamming vibratory hopper lu including a fabricated hopper bowl 12, formed in a spiral, and a housing l l' which contains-the drive motor forthe vibratory hopper. Themotors, contained within housing 14, are not shown; however, the drive for the reciprocating-arm is a conventional gear head type motor operating at approximately 40 R. P. M. The vibratory hopper is powered by a magnet and leafspring arrangement, also conventional. Switch to on the housing M is used to stop and start the motors and indicator knob 17 is provided to" control the: force ofagitation of the hopper bowl aboutits'vertical axis.

The motor drive shaft ldnprotrudesslightly fromthe outside of one of the side walls of. the hopper housing and is connected to a crank 26 by welding or other suitable means so that as the shaft. 18 rotates the crank-2t). will rotate. To cranklil, by means of pin'22, is aflixed the link arm 24 which, undertheaction of the rotating crank 2d, moves baclcwardsand forwards substantially in the direction indicated by the arrow 26.

At the extremity of link arm' 24, by means of. pin 28, is affixed one end of a second crank 30. Thiscrank is affixed at its other end by welding or other suitable means to the rod 32. Rod 32 'at its lower extremity 32 is journaled and supported in thebearing extension 34 ot bracket 36 which is mounted on a side wall'of the housing 14-. Above extension 34 is a. bronze thrust bearing 35 held in place by steel collar 35a which is fixedly mounted to rod by set screw A second bracket 38 also aftixed to housing l4 has a bearing extension 49 which substantially cooperates with bearing extension 34 to support rod 32in a vertical position.

Bracket 33 also has an upwardly extending portion 42 at whose upper extremity a rod 44 is mounted adjustably, and held in place by a set screw 43.

Rod M is bent in a substantially horizontal plane to form a U-shaped loop generally indicated at 46. On this rod loop 46 is mounted a plate member 48, by means of a loop guide Ell on plate extension 52, to one side 46' of loop 46. The extension 52 is positioned beneath the rod loop at as" so that the plate 58' is freely rotatable around the rod at 46' whereby it may move substantially upwardly. However, the extension portion 52 of plate 48 positioned below the rod at 46 prevents the plate from dropping below the substantially horizontal plane of therod loop 46. upwardly projecting extremities 54 and 56 for a purpose to be hereinafter described.

Rod 32, at its upper extremity 32", has an extension arm 60 welded or by other suitable means aflixed thereto. At the. outer extremity of extension arm so (Fig. 4) is a plurality of openings 62, 62, 62" through which the Plate 48 has two' brush arm 64 extends substantially downward. These openings allow adjustable positioning of the brush arm. The brush arm illustrated in Figs. 1 and 4 is a coil spring wire, however, it being well understood that this brush arm could be composed of other suitable material without departing from the spirit of this invention.

This brush arm 64, extending through one of the openings 62, 62, 62",is rigidly connected to the extension arm 69 by means of one of the set screws 66, 66, 66 fitted in cooperating threaded holes at the side of extension arm 60. It is therefore seen that as the motor shaft 18 rotates it will cause, through the linkage hereinabove described, the arm 60 to vibrate as indicated by the arrow 68 (Fig. 2). This will make the lower extremity 64' of brush arm 64 move in a corresponding manner, as indicated by arrow 69 (Fig. 4), for a purpose to be hereinafter described.

On the interior of the vibratory hopper bowl, is a spirally wound shelf 70 (Figs. 2 and 4), upon which the articles 72, which are to be separated, are carried from the base 74 of the hopper around the side of the hopper bowl up to a position where they will be engaged by the brush arm 64.

The vibratory action which induces the movement of the article 72 from the floor of the hopper to the shelf 70 and thence upwardly, is conventional in the art and forms no part of the invention, and, therefore, will not be herein described.

An opening 80 in a side wall of the vibratory hopper bowl is provided to cooperate with a cup member 82 mounted on the hopper wall. Cup member 82 has-two side walls 84 and 86, a back wall 8 8 and a bottom wall 90.

At a point short of the plate 48, shelf 70 terminates and becomes two parallel side walls 96 and 98 with an opening 100 therebetween forming a trackway. This trackway is removable and adjustable to provide a larger or smaller opening 100 so as to accommodate any desired size article. As the articles to be processed travel along the shelf 70, they drop into the trackway 96-98 supported on flange 72 of article 72 and the articles are carried along by vibratory action. A portion of the article 72 being transported will protrude into the opening 100 between the walls while another portion will ride above the trackway 9698. As the article proceeds along, extensions 54, 56 of plate 48 insures prepositioning of the articles 72 so that they are positively seated in one position or the other on their flanges 72. Therefore, the article 72 will not appear canted as illusti'ated at 102, Fig. 4, but essentially vertical as shown at 104, 106, Fig. 4.

Plate 48 and extensions 54, 56 also insure a space between successive articles so that they will be more easily rejected if incorrectly positioned.

As the trackway 9698 proceeds through coincident openings 107 (Fig. 4) in wall 84 of cup member 82, the wall 84 forms a stop to insure that articles will not proceed unless correctly positioned. This is done by providing a silhouette opening 168 through which an article positioned as at 104 would not be able to pass while an article positioned as at 106 would be able to pass.

As the articles are proceeding along trackway 96-98, they arrive in a position where the brush arm 64, which is vibrated substantially in the direction of arrow 69 (Fig. 4) under the action of the vibrating extension arm 60, will contact that portion of article 72 projecting above the horizontal plane of the upper trackway 9698.

The extremity 64 of this brush. arm, as shown in Figs. through 7 inclusive, will eject from the trackway In the event that this vibratory brush arm 64 should strike a piece 72 correctly positioned, i. e., as at 106 (Fig. 4), that portion of the article 72 which is supported beneath the horizontal plane of the upper edges of these trackways, is substantially the same width as the opening 100 between the trackways, and, therefore, this spring motion will not force the object out and the object will be allowed to continue along its path as shown in Fig. 6. Objects positioned as shown at 106 (Fig. 4) will, therefore be allowed to pass through the opening 108 and will be projected through the chute 110 into connecting runways, conveyors, or conventional apparatus for conveyance to succeeding devices.

Articles which are ejected toward the hopper center will fall down onto the hopper floor 74 to again begin the cycle up, through and around the shelf back to the separating device hereinabove described. Articles ejected in the reverse direction, will strike wall 88 and slide down over bottom wall of cup 82 thence to the hopper floor 74 (Fig. 3) through opening 80.

As illustrated, the brush arm has a spring quality therein and therefore will not 'mar or injure, by contact, the article 72 if the article 72 is rigidly seated and does not give against the pressure. In addition, the vibratory motion of the extension 64 will substantially be contacting, in correct cases, the smaller portion of the article being separated and, therefore, will have less chance of making a solid contact.

It being understood that should it be desired, or should larger articles be separated than those shown, additional brush arms could be used having various designs which would accomplish the same result without departing from the spirit of this invention and likewise, different size or shaped openings 108 could be used.

In Fig. 7, it is shown that should a correctly positioned article 72 happen to contact the brush arm extremity 64 directly in its path and tend to fall backward in the direction of the arrow 114, this would only be a momentary contact and would not be sufiicient to tip the article 72 over backward. In the event, however, that the article actually was tipped over backward, it would be unable to pass through the opening 108. When so positioned and held by wall 84, it would be positively ejected by the vibratory action of the brush arm extension 64' during succeeding movement of the bl'llSl'l extremity 64.

While I have shown what I believe to be the best embodiments of my invention, I do not wish however to be confined to the embodiments shown, but what I desire to cover by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A vibratory non-jamming hopper adapted to separate a plurality of articles, the combination of a housing, a hopper bowl mounted on said housing, means within said housing to vibrate the hopper bowl, rejecting means mounted on said housing adapted to reject incorrectly positioned articles in said bowl, first conveyor means within said bowl whereby the articles are conveyed from the hopper bowl to the rejecting means by the vibratory action of the hopper bowl and second conveyor means connected to said first conveyor means adapted to carry oil articles not rejected by said rejecting means, said rejecting means including selecting means to allow entry of only correctly positioned articles into said second conveyor means, and pre-positioning. means located in the path of the articles in advance of said rejecting means adapted to pro-position said articles for rejection by said rejecting means, wherein said first conveyor means includes a spiral shelf extending upwardly from the hopper bowl bottom around the interior of hopper bowl, said shelf terminating in advance of said pre-positioning means and a trackway extending from said shelf to said second conveyor means through said selecting means and integral with said second conveyor means, said ing therebetween.

2. A vibratory non-jammi 1g hopper adapted to separate a plurality of articles as in claim 1, wherein said pre-positioning means includes a bracket mounted on said housing, a first rod adjustably mounted on an upwardly extending portion of said bracket, said first rod being bent into a loop in a substantiallly horizontal plane and a plate member mounted on said rod loop adapted so that it can be pivoted upwardly but not downwardly about said rod, said plate member extending over said trackway.

3. A vibratory non-jamming hopper adapted to separate a plurality of articles as in claim 2, wherein said rejecting means includes rejected article directing means adapted to direct rejected articles back to the hopper bowl, said rejected article directing means including a cup member mounted on the hopper bowl, said cup member having two end Walls, a back wall and a bottom wall and an opening in the side wall of the hopper bowl cooperating with said cup member.

4. A vibratory non-jamming hopper adapted to separate a plurality of articles as in claim 3, wherein said selecting means includes a silhouette opening in an end wall of said cup member in the path of said articles adapted to allow passage of only a correctly positioned article therethrough.

5. A vibratory non-jamming hopper adapted to sepa rate a plurality of articles as in claim 3, wherein said rejecting means includes a second rod, means for mounting said second rod substantially vertically, means for inducing reciprocating movement of said second rod, a laterally extending arm fixedly mounted at the upper extremity of said second rod, removable brush means downwardly extending from said arm and mounting means adapted to mount said brush means to said arm in a preselected position.

6. A vibratory non-jamming hopper adapted to separate a plurality of articles as in claim 5, wherein said brush mounting means includes a plurality of openings in the lateral extremity of said arm and an adjustable fastening screw cooperating with each opening, and said brush means includes a coil spring having one extremity passing through at least one of said openings in the lateral extremities of said arm, said other extremity of said coil spring positioned above said trackway adapted to move back and forth across said trackway to reject an article as said arm moves in response to said reciprocating second rod.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,336,785 Matter Apr. 13, 1920 1,692,456 Lynch Nov. 20, 1928 2,275,971 Clark Dec. 6, 1955 2,798,585 Bailey July 9, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 262,606 Switzerland Oct. 1, 1949 1,094,573 France May 23, 1955 

